Report: Aide to Sen. Boxer Charged in Child Porn Case

UPDATE 7:35 p.m. ET: According to the FBI affidavit filed in this case, Rosato did not actually exchange pornography with an undercover law enforcement agent. An unnamed person (identified as "Mr. XXXXXX") did, and when the FBI searched that person's computer, they discovered information that led them to Rosato.
ORIGINAL POST: A longtime senior aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has been fired from his post after being charged with distributing and receiving child pornography, according to a report in Roll Call (subscription required).

Jeff Rosato, an aide to Boxer and senior policy adviser and counsel on the Environment and Public Works Committee, was arrested last week and charged by the Justice Department "after he sent more than 600 images and movies of child pornography to an undercover FBI agent he believed was a 13-year-old boy," Roll Call reported, citing an FBI affidavit.

Investigators also found numerous pornographic photos and movies and photos in Rosato's Alexandria home when they searched it in November. Rosato's attorney did not return a phone call from Roll Call seeking comment.

Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz confirmed to Capitol Briefing that Rosato had been fired because of the charges.

"On Friday, the Justice Department informed our office of criminal charges made against a Senate employee," Ravitz said. "Senator Boxer has zero tolerance for crimes against children, and the employee was immediately terminated. Our office is cooperating fully with the Department of Justice in this matter."

charlietuna.. I almost convinced myself not to respond to your post on the grounds that it is the sign of a very sick mind. As it stands, I concluded that a brief encouragement for you to get the professional help you so clearly need would be appropriate. Please do get help.

He worked as a legislative assistant and senior policy adviser to Senator Boxer, earning $101,000 in FY 2007. Those aren't part-time positions, and he clearly wasn't lowly paid relative to average congressional salaries.

Another minor scandal that perhaps may stay under the radar but not likely. This guy should be instantly fired, made to go to counciling for a good year, have part of his frontal lobes removed that create the need for prurient desires and then hook up his testicles to a toaster and slow roast them.

PATHETIC!!!
How absurd is it to lump ALL Californians or all Democrats or all same-sex parents or all legislation as anti-child, anti-protective, or somehow perverse, endangering and/or unconcerned?!?
Child pornography is sick, wrong, unfair, unhealthy and unlawful. It is NOT exclusive to politicians, Californians or Democrats. The majority of child molesters are straight, married, white bigots who often attend church on Sunday. Go figure!
When will we finally acknowledge that a woman's right to govern her own body and make choices based on what she and she alone must decide is imperative. It cannot be easy and we have no right to make it even more difficult or to attempt to legislate her freedom and her future. Men of all people, should NEVER be involved in this debate as they NEVER have to face this horrible dilemma or live with the consequences, whatever they may be.
Let's start looking at the problems for what they are and quit casting blame irrationally; we are not Democrats or Republicans, we are people; varied, diverse, unique, confused, questioning and hopefully, looking for solutions to problems facing ALL of us as we move into a new century already begun by the most corrupt and destructive administration we have ever known. Let us unite behind our new president and his cabinet, let us work for world peace and begin to heal a planet torn asunder.

Why are you smearing Senator Boxer with this association? She is not responsible for an employee's actions in his private life. This is not a political story, yet you put it in that category solely to smear Senator Boxer. You should be ashamed.

I believe this is the second aide to Sen. Boxer who has been charged with child porn. You have to wonder what kind of employees she is attracting to her office and why she isn't vetting these people better.

once again, we see charlietuna, and those of his ilk, lump the words pervert or child molester with gay men. Stats have shown that is a myth, as has already been noted.This is just a usual way to put fear into the minds of others.

It has become all to common place for the news media to use associations that do exist as an excuse to fabricate or imply associations that don't exist. It has also become common place for ideological zealots and partisan idiots to run with this nonsense. Its a shame anyone even gives these people a formatt to express their intolerance and hate but I guess we have to take the good with the bad.

I have no problem with all gays being branded as pedophiles because some are....as long as all priest are also considered pedophiles because some are..and all heterosexuals are considered pedophiles because some are.....are you all ready to step up to the plate and confess your sins?
What an absolutely ignorant assumption .

This is not a Republican or Democratic problem . .. Who cares what party this person belongs to . .. HE IS SICK. Simple as that. He should be sent to jail for the rest of his life so parents can be sure that the streets are safer for their children. This is where I think the justice system is flawed . ..We lock up people for life when they are doing drugs and only hurting themselves .. .but we let people like this walk out of jail. Why is that?? People who commit rape, murder, crimes against children should be put away forever! But the way things are now . .we are more concerned with some 2 bit drug dealer. Wake up America and let's get these people off the street!

Homosexuals, by and large, are not pederasts. The term "pedophile" is a misnomer, since there is no love involved, and the people who perpetrate these crimes are sadistic control freaks. Most perpetrators are heterosexual males, who engage in child-abusive sex as a preferred thrill.

As to the claims that Democrats do not care about the welfare of children, it has been mostly the Democrats who have pursued child protection legislation. The religious right (not all members, just many) have opposed child and spousal protection legislation because (1) they view children and wives as property quite often, and not as separate individuals; (2) they regard any governmental action in regard to the protection of "second and third tier" family members as an intrusion on their G-d-given rights to rule the family.

Also, I would note that the most vociferous "pro-life" people do not as a rule adopt children, especially those who are considered undesirable, such as those with Down syndrome, serious health problems, are older, or come from different ethnic groups. There are notable exceptions, but these are pro-life individuals who are more tolerant of those who disagree with them and support reasonable measures to lower the abortion rate.

If you wish to protect the unborn, you must guarantee the right to health care, good schooling, a healthful diet and reasonably crime-free neighborhoods to children who are already here.

Liberals, moderates and progressives are much more concerned with children's rights than some of those who have posted vitriolic or confused comments here.

In response to flyingeangel's post: I agree that child molesters should be put away for life. Unfortunately, there are some in the mental health community who lack humility and will not admit that there are some classes of individuals who cannot be cured because their problems are not mental health or emotional health problems, but moral problems. Child sexual abusers cannot be cured because they do not value and respect other human beings. This is a basic character flaw based on choice, not on hard wiring or genetics and only partially on upbringing, as these individuals come from all backgrounds.

I believe in healthy free speech protections, but child porn is not protected speech, as its mere possession encourages the commission of crimes. The problem has been that some quite innocent nude depictions of children have been classed as child pornography also. It is easy to tell from context what the intent of the picture is. The nude body is a beautiful thing when displayed in a non-exploitative manner. Child porn should never be protected speech or artistic expression.

Has the GOP been targeting pelosi's staff because she is the ethics chair? This is hilarious, as most of the pederasts in the Congress have been bible-thumping "protect the family" conservatives. Former Rep. Maloney of Fla., a Democrat, made a shameful display of himself on t.v. the other day, claiming that he made ONE mistake (he made many) and that it is not pedophilia when teenagers are involved. His claims of remorse are obviously false. He simply feels sorry for himself.

People engaged in child sex are sadists and should be locked away for life; there is no hope or redemption for them under any system of justice or religion that could cause a true change in attitude and behavior. These people do not desire to change.

By the way, how many heterosexuals engage in sex with 13 and 14 year old female runaways? The law doesn't go after them.

The perverion is wild in the Bay Area, Ever been to the Gay Freedon Day Parade, there is more leather garb then at a biker railly. Oregon has a 1500 nudest bike race and it's never ending and OK'edv by Fed. Judges as expresion of free speech. Get used to it, you voted vfor more of it, it's called CHANGE.